When Insanity Knocks on My Door
by xabie and damouse
Summary: When Mi-chan moves into a new house, he gets a few surprises...add in a certain Fuuko Kirisawa and a few unexpected elements... things are sure to get a bit crazy for dear Mi-chan. A collaboration between damouse and Xabie!
1. More than Surprises

Authors' note: Hello everyone! This is Xabie and Da*mouse speaking! Surprise surprise! We're doing a….. *drumroll*  joint fic!! Yay!!! Yup you got that right people, we're going to be working together for this Fic! We hope you enjoy this! Happy reading!

When insanity knocks on my door

Mikagami Tokiya, aged 19, aspiring artist, had moved out of his house and into another. To most people it was a surprise wrapped in a surprise. After all, who would imagine the intellectual scientific Mikagami becoming, of all things, an artist? No-one of course. When he had graduated from high school, everyone had speculated on his future career track. A forensic scientist, a lawyer, a doctor, an accountant, but no-one, not a single one of them had thought about him becoming an artist. His teachers thought it a waste that he was not furthering his education, but he had already decided, and no amount of cajoling would change his mind.

His moving out of his house was a surprise to a smaller group of people, more specifically, the Hokage. The house was his childhood home, containing memories of happiness, joy, love and peace. Memories of Mifuyu. Memories of a happy Tokiya. The Hokage hadn't expected him to move out, much less sell it. But sell it he did. And he moved away, into the outskirts of the city, to a ramshackle house, that was, surprisingly old and worn down, but still in rather good condition. 

The Hokage had not tried to find out why, or persuade him against it. They knew that each of them had their own way of dealing with the unexpected lease of life that fate had bestowed upon them. The truth was, even though all of them knew they were facing certain death against Mori Kouran, only Mikagami had expected to die. And now that he, against all odds, had _lived_, he was at a loss for what to do. Though of course he did not tell them that. But the Hokage, though stupid at times, can be uncharacteristically perceptive when the need arose. 

So they left him alone, and he moved into his old new house.

_

Though the house was rundown, it was still rather well kept (the pipes were in good condition and the walls were still sturdy), and Mikagami had been rather surprised that no-one had bought it before, considering that the price was cheap and it was a large house by anyone's standards.

He unlocked the door, and pushed the heavy oak door inwards. Stepping across the threshold, he could smell the scent of oldness, decay, death; he dropped his duffel bag onto the lackluster oak floor. 

Slices of golden sunlight filtered in through the shuttered windows, creating yellow blocks of swirling dust. 

Well, he thought, I guess I'm home.

_

The house had come with the basic furniture, beds, a sofa, closets, a working stove, and a fridge and so it was easier for him to settle in. He had only two boxes to unpack seeing as he hadn't many possessions to bring in the first place; his room at his old house was almost empty. 

Perhaps the hardest thing that he had to do was the cleaning up; any and every exposed area was covered in layers of dust, grime, and cobwebs. It took him about two days to finish making it livable.

As usual, there was nothing decorative in the house, no thanks to Mikagami himself, who was never a very avid house decorator anyway. But there was however, two framed pictures sitting on the dresser in his room.

Mifuyu.

The Hokage.

_

After a week or so, Mikagami had settled into a routine. Wake up at 7, read the papers and eat breakfast until 8.30, then start sketching some research drawings. At around 12, he would stop for lunch and take a walk around the very large and overgrown labyrinth hedge in his backyard. When it reached 2, he would head back to a room that he had converted to his studio, and start painting. Then, at around 7, he would stop and order takeaway. At 8 he would read until 10 when he would get ready for bed. He was under his covers by 10.30.

Life was turning out better than expected, and Mikagami was starting to feel a modicum of satisfaction in his life.

_

Human beings are social creatures, and no matter how anti-social a person is, sooner or later, the need for human company is almost tangible.

Mikagami woke up one day for the first time in a long while feeling rather empty. Even the sky refused to wash out into a clear blue, instead languished in greys and whites. The sun was hiding under the clouds, casting pale fingers of weak light into the sky. The birds chirped tiredly. And the plants looked wilted and limp.

He had tried going about his daily business, tried to feel reassurance in doing normal things, tried to feel as if the world was _not_ tilting too far off its axis. It hadn't worked.

In the end he had given up painting and had just lounged around in his room, sprawled on his bed, feeling sorry for himself. Wallowing in self-pity, he decided, needed much more energy than anyone else thought.

And so it was like this, that Mikagami Tokiya met them.

Met who you ask? Well, you just have to read on and find out won't you? I mean after all, what's the point of asking me, when you're supposed to be reading anyway? That just boggles my mind. 

Anyway, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, it was like this that Mikagami Tokiya met them.

As mentioned before, our hero, was lying on his bed, feeling pathetic, knowing that he _was_ pathetic, and doing nothing about it. Where, his thoughts were straying more and more dangerously close to Mifuyu. 

At that moment, at that very moment, no earlier, no later, he saw a ghost.

A male's head, quite suddenly floated into his vision, looking down at his face. The head was attached to a body (thank god), but due to the position he and the ghost were in, Mikagami could only see its face. It was a face that belonged to a man in his middle twenties; clean-shaven, indigo-coloured hair neatly combed and gelled in place. His eyes were a clear blue and had a mischievous twinkle. Not to mention the fact that Mikagami could see the ceiling through his entire head. 

Needless to say, Mikagami, was shocked. He was dumbstruck, thunderstruck, lightningstruck, and most appropriately, ghoststruck.

He sat up and backed away feeling as if the world was spinning twice as fast as usual. 

The ghost was wearing a black suit, but the strange thing was, on his feet, were fluffy yellow ducky bathroom slippers. 

Mikagami opened his mouth (not a wise move in this situation, but a traumatized brain acts in strange ways).

"Why are you wearing those slippers?"                                                  

That wasn't the question he had wanted to ask. But it had forced its way up his throat.

The ghost smiled, revealing two ghost dimples. From somewhere behind Mikagami, he heard a low chuckle of amusement.

Slowly, and not knowing whether he should or not, he turned his head over his shoulder and widened his eyes (the Mi-chan equivalent of a gasp). 

There was (another) ghost popping through the brick wall over the headboard of his bed. It was a woman this time. Like the man she was in her mid-twenties. She had lilac coloured hair that tumbled down past her shoulders. Her brown eyes glinted with amusement.

She floated out of the wall, and went beside the man-ghost in front of Mikagami.

"I knew you were an interesting fellow, Mikagami-san. No-one else asks that kind of question when they first meet us."

_tbc_

Written by Xabie

5/1/04

AN: Review minna! We're waiting impatiently for your comments!


	2. Of Ghosts, Men, and Women

**When Insanity Comes Knocking On My Door**  
by: xabie and da*mouse

**Chapter 2: Of Ghosts and (Wo)Men**

He was aware that it was probably one of his most undignified moments of all nineteen years of his life, as he stared wide-eyed at the two ghosts with a tongue that absolutely refused to cooperate with him. 

"What's the matter, dude? Cat got your tongue?" The man-ghost floated closer to him, and grinned, exposing perfect rows of transparent teeth.  "Or haven't you seen a ghost before?" He cracked up on that one, laughing loudly at his own lame joke, while his companion merely frowned at him.

"Or maybe it's these slippers." The ghost wiggled his feet, clad in yellow ducky slippers. "You like them? I can get you a pair, but I don't whether are you able to wear them…you have to be dead, you know."

"Shut up, Shinrei." The woman shot him a disapproving look. She then fixed her eyes upon Mikagami, who was still staring at them. 

He was wondering whether was this some kind of bad dream that he couldn't get out of, or that perhaps he was going mad.

Or maybe it was both cases. 

"Rest assured that you're perfectly sane and perfectly awake." She said insouciantly, seeming to read his mind. She settled herself on a nearby chair, and folded her hands on her lap. The man chose to sprawl himself on the bed, Mikagami's bed. 

Vaguely, Mikagami wondered how on earth they manage _not_ to go right through the furniture. And then he wondered why was he thinking about something so…well…stupid. 

"Please. Sit." The woman gestured to an armchair across from her. 

He still stood, cocking his head to one side, scrutinizing the two ghosts. Frankly, he did not know how to react to them. It was, after all, the first time he had ever encountered anything like this. 

, 

"We won't bite if you won't." The man added, and then pretended to lick his chops. He flashed a wide grin, revealing all his teeth, at Mikagami. 

The woman looked at him, rolled her eyes, and sighed, waving her hand as if dismissing him. "Ignore him, Mikagami-san." She fixed her gaze on the silver-haired young man, and nodded to the direction of the armchair again. "You could choose to stand, or to sit, as I talk." 

Almost warily, Mikagami eased himself into the armchair, his blue eyes sharp and alert. 

"That's better." Brushing back her brown hair, she continued. "Forgive us for intruding into your privacy through walls and beds, but that can't be helped. Truth be told, I couldn't really bring myself to care, either."

"Hello!" A protesting voice broke in. "Why should you apologise? It was him intruding upon us in general, not the other way round!" 

"Shinrei, for the last time…" The woman drew her mouth into a tight line and glared at the man.

"Okay, okay. Can't a man talk?" He complained, but obligingly quieted down. 

"My name is Shiina Saori, and that is my husband, Shiina Shinrei." 

_Shiina Saori and Shiina Shinrei? What a mouthful. _Wait. Did he just comment on the names of two _ghosts_? 

"Hey! What kind of name is Mikagami Tokiya? Are you some kind of water freezer, huh? Huh?" The man – Shinrei apparently – began laughing at Mikagami.  He reflectively drew back; surprised that the ghost could actually read his mind. 

"Yes, we can read minds. One of our many abilities as the undead, I supposed." Saori wore a slightly sardonic smile. "And Shinrei…if you continue to disturb me and Mikagami-san, I'll make sure you stay buried under my chair until this conversation is over." 

"All right already, Riri-chan!" Shinrei held up his hands in a mock surrender gesture. At that, Saori threw a lethal glare towards the other ghost, which gradually turned into a wry smile. "You'll never get out of that habit."

"And you love me for it." 

Mikagami only stared. 

"Forgive us, Mikagami-san." Saori's tone was one of cool politeness. "Now where was I…ah. This is our house…was our house." Saori corrected herself. 

"How long have you been here?" Mikagami asked slowly. He couldn't help noticing the fashion of their clothes, in a fairly recent style. 

"Oh, not long. Say…eight years?" 

"And you've…lived here? For eight years?"

Both of them nodded. 

"I assure you, Mikagami-san, that we meant you no harm." Saori spoke unperturbedly.

"Yeah, we're great folks! And I'm really friendly, outgoing, cute…everything she's not." Shinrei added, his eyes twinkling. Saori just frowned at her husband, but even so, Mikagami could sense the lingering affection between the two ghosts.

Wait a minute. These were ghosts he was talking about! He was likening them to living, breathing, human beings. Not good. How long had it been since he had human contact again? Perhaps that was the reason for his… strange thoughts.

"It's just that if we're going to be living together, I thought we should get to know and understand each other. It would be pretty rude of you to stumble upon us without informing us, even if by accident." Saori said indifferently. "I do _not_ fancy a loud scream or two right at my face."  

Mikagami let out the breath he didn't realised that he had been holding. His sharp senses told him immediately that these two ghosts were harmless.

Not that he was an expert on ghosts or anything…well, he could just tell. That was all. Or maybe he _was_ just going insane. Who knew?

The shock was wearing off, and he could feel the old him returning, replacing the once-shell shocked, confused, and rather stunned nineteen-year-old that he refused to admit as himself. 

"First thing you should understand about me is, that I am a loner." He said coolly. "Thank you for introducing yourselves to me, that was most appreciated. What I would appreciate more, though, was that I should be left alone to my life, to do my work. As long as you can understand that, I'm sure we'll get along fine. The second thing is, I do _not_ scream. Soft or loud otherwise."

He stood up, and bowed to Shinrei and Saori. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some work to be seeing to in the studio. Good day, Shiina-san, Saori-san."

With that, he spun on his heel, and left the room. He reflected, how, earlier on, he was wishing for a little human company.

Well, he got the company he wanted. The only thing was, they were not human. 

Meanwhile, Shinrei stared open-mouthed at the retreating back, while Saori sighed.

"He's a major pain in the neck." She muttered.

"What about that?! The little git! Why, I ought to give him a piece of my ghost mind!" Shinrei said irritably. 

"He'll get used to us. He'll have to." she said dismissively.

Both ghosts then lapsed into a ghostly silence, pardon the pun. Then Shinrei spoke. 

"You know, he reminded me a lot of you. The initial you, when we first met? Even the hair, except for the color. Eh, Riri-chan?" He grinned at his wife, and she rolled her eyes at the nickname she hated, but still, was stuck with. "Of course, the hair looked much better on you." He playfully tugged on a lock of his wife's lilac-colored tresses. 

Saori smirked. "Naturally."

It was just as well that Mikagami had left the room. If he had heard the hair insult, he would _not_ let it slide, ghosts or not. 

-

Some distance away from the house where Mikagami was residing, a purple-haired girl disembarked from a bus, looking around her and wrinkling her nose in distaste. "Hey!" She turned back to the bus driver, who was ready to pull the lever to close the doors. "Is the right place?" 

The bus driver shrugged. "This is the closest I can get you to where you're going. If you would just walk down this path, and turn right on the first fork path you come across, you'll find the old house, Mister."

A throbbing vein bulged at her forehead, and her eyes darkened considerably. 

POW!

The bus driver laid bruised, arms and legs disarrayed, as Fuuko dusted her hands with satisfaction.

"It's MISS, for your information." She snarled, wishing she had never chose to wear that baggy T-shirt, which concealed the one glaring fact that she belonged to the female species.

The bus pulled away as soon as she alighted, taking off at top speed, tires screeching as it rounded a corner. Fuuko scoffed. "Wimp."

Looking at the unearthly atmosphere around here, a slight frown appeared on her face, as she took off down the worn path she was pointed to. She reached the turning soon enough, and took the road to her right.

In the distance, she could see the silhouette of an old house against the sky of the setting sun. That should be his house, all right.

Fuuko grinned. Wouldn't he be pleased to see her?

_Are you kidding? Mikagami…pleased to see you? In what century?_ Her inner voice spoke up, chiding her.

For a moment, Fuuko's step faltered. True, he would _not_ be extremely pleased to see her. But hey, who was he to turn her away especially since she came all the way? She bit her lip. After they had been through life and death through USB…surely she was, at least, a friend to the Hokage iceman?

Shrugging away her concerns, Fuuko bounded towards Mikagami's house. 

She was never one to worry about problems before they arise. She'd just worry after they came. 

-

Mikagami propped a clean canvas on the easel neatly, next to the window of a huge sunny room he discovered the other day, which made it perfect for him to go about in his work. Carefully securing his silver mane into a tight ponytail, he slipped on an artist's smock, and pick up a brush.

He had barely touched the canvas when a head poked itself through. Startled, he dropped his brush, and reflexively backed away, which resulted in him bumping into the container of water. And that conveniently spilt all over the poor man, wetting his pants. 

Shinrei looked at the mess he had created. "Oops." He floated out of the canvas, and settled beside the wet and angry artist. "I'm so sorry, Mikagami-san. I didn't mean to…" Picking up a jar of paint, he attempted to hand it to Mikagami, but since the jar was wet, it slipped out of his ghost fingers, and the paint spattered against Mikagami's smock. 

Grabbing a cloth, a huge scowl materialised on his face as he dabbed at the offending purple stain on his smock. Seeing that Shinrei was about to pick up another jar of paint, he immediately snapped. "Get away from my things!" 

"Aww, I said I was sorry." Shinrei backed away, a hint of nervousness on his face at the ice-cold expression on the other's man face.

"Just stay out of my way, and I'll extend to you the same courtesy." 

"Oi, Mi-chan!"

A new voice broke in. Both man and ghost swiveled towards the direction of the voice.

Shock registered on Mikagami's face. "Kirisawa?! Goddamnit, what are you doing here? And how the hell did you get in?" 

The owner of the said voice gave a small, sheepish wave. "Ehhh…the door was not locked, so…"

"Oops again. Sorry, Mikagami-san, I forgot to lock the door." Shinrei's face was one of apology. 

Stepping towards Fuuko, Mikagami tripped over one of the many jars of paint strewn on the floor, and nearly lost his balance. He would have fell flat on his face if not for years and years of training with the ensui, which bestowed him some grace. 

Still, it was not one of his most distinguished moments and he knew it.

A giggle escaped from Fuuko, and he threw her his customary scowl. He pressed his fingers to his temples, feeling a massive headache coming on.

Shinrei floated next to him, eyeing Fuuko with an interested air. "Hey, who's the girl? Your girlfriend? She's cute."

Mikagami growled. Between the ghosts, and the sudden appearance of the she-monkey, he was about to go stark raving mad. "Shiina, can you PLEASE leave me alone?"

"Sheesh, a guy can't try to be friendly, could he?" Shinrei complained. 

"Ehh…Mi-chan? Are you all right?" Fuuko walked into the room, wrinkling her nose a little. "Why are you talking to yourself?" An expression of worry appeared on her face. _Oh no. He's gone insane. Too deprived of human company? Gah, I _knew_ he shouldn't move in into this sorry excuse of a house in the first place. Maybe if I grab him now, I can drag him to a mental hospital? Hopefully it's not too late…_

"Hey, that's my house you're talking about!" Shinrei exclaimed, immediately reading Fuuko's mind. 

"Waaa?" Wait a minute. That was _not _Mikagami's voice.

She felt a tap on her shoulder, and she turned around. Shinrei gave her a huge ghost grin. "Hi!"

There was a few moments of thundering silence, before she registered the tiny, little insignificant fact that his head was see-through.

Then…

Fuuko's eyes widened, as huge as saucers and she reacted in the only way she knew how.

She opened her mouth and screamed. 

"ARGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" 

-

written by da*mouse  
edited by xabie  
15 January 2004

Reviews are most appreciated! ^_^


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